


A Home For His Soul

by wastefulreverie



Series: PhannieMay Shots 2018 [6]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: CORE, Gen, Ghost Lair, Ghost Zone, Worldbuilding, lair, let Danny love space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 21:41:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17231699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wastefulreverie/pseuds/wastefulreverie
Summary: Following Clockwork's insistence, Danny finally gets around to making his lair.





	A Home For His Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for days six and seven of PhannieMay 2018 - Core and Worldbuilding.

It was truly an odd sensation. Danny had no clue how he gotten where he was at the moment, yet, he knew his exact dimension-graphical location and could _feel_ how this one place harmonized with the natural energy of the Ghost Zone. In the back of his mind, he discovered he could tap into the energy ingrained in the fabric of the ghostly plane, using this location as his anchor. To tell the truth, Danny didn't even know how he was doing it; it was just something naturally instinctual to his ghost half.

It was just as Clockwork had described it, just eerily more vivid and awesome.

He glanced around at the expansive world around him, satisfied with the anomalous beauty the area the Ghost Zone offered. In most places within the Ghost Zone, the vast space was occupied with clusters of lairs, but this sector was strangely isolated. Multiple flowing swirls of ectoplasm blended together to create an aesthetic ambiance akin to a winter sunset. The shades of green varied from dark tones of jade to bright hues of oozing, neon lime, creating a luminescent kaleidoscope that radiated green shadows onto every physical surface. The mirage of the ectoplasm contrasted with the pure darkness of vacant space, ebbing against each other like a three dimensional watercolor painting.

His core had lured him here, to the place where he himself felt most connected to the Ghost Zone. He'd never been here before, but just from the few minutes he spent reveling in the feeling of comfort it brought him, he knew it was the place. The place where he would build his lair.

At this point, he'd been half-ghost for about two years, and hadn't put any thought of his own residence within the ghost world. Though, Clockwork (all-seeing mentor/occasional jerkwad) had informed him that it was beneficial to all ghosts to have their own lair, including him. Danny was adamant at first, but eventually gave into Clockwork's insistence. After all, he supposed it would be somewhat helpful to have a place he could go to in the Ghost Zone that was his own territory, not to mention, a ghost's lair also helped increase healing capabilities.

Clockwork gave him lots of advice about how to find where his lair should be (which meant aimlessly flying until his core pulled him to a random place), how to actually create his lair, how to manage it, and how to convert energy from it to regain strength.

So, now that he'd found the place, he could begin building. Easily, the most difficult task in the process; if he screwed up, it would take a _lot_ of energy to renovate as opposed to construction. Clockwork had made that fact _very_ clear, so that indicated that in some alternate timeline, he had the potential of messing up his lair. Danny knew Clockwork well enough that he didn't truly stress something unless there was a probable chance that it could occur.

“Alright, Fenton,” he muttered to himself. “You can do this. Just keep a blank mind. It shouldn't be too hard, just imagine Lancer's reading Hamlet.”

Danny cleared his mind, trying his best to avoid any lingering thoughts. He had to _really_ concentrate on not letting anything interfere. Rather than thinking with his brain, he had to surrender control to his core to allow himself to utilize the complex network of ecto-energy.

As his conscious thoughts mellowed away, Danny became aware of more fervent sensations within him as he explored the border between his core and the fabric of this reality. His new sixth sense grew, causing his external senses to fade into a numb awareness; color dissolved, sound vanished, and the coolness of the air receded.... Yet, everything within him felt deep and bright. He could feel the edge of the Ghost Zone's raw, infinite power, and wanted to delve further into it and search every other core connected to this plane. Though, he knew he couldn't; doing so would destroy him, it'd literally _consume_ him in more ways than one. He had to trust his core to shape the necessary energy into what he wished to create, he had to contain himself to his own limitations whilst becoming one with the Ghost Zone.

As he began the process of building, he felt his core stretch and constrict and send a range of different pleasing and uncomfortable sensations through his nervous system. The energy also probed his soul, seeming to ask ' _who_ are you?' as it decided how it was going to fulfill the creation of Danny's lair. As this process occurred, he watched in placid fascination as wisps of incorporeal ectoplasm poured from his body and joined with the surrounding ectoplasm in the air to create a vague shape of a door.

His core allowed him to effortlessly envision the inside of his lair, allowing him to conceive and fashion his territory specifically to his own desires. Thus, Danny easily manipulated the ectoplasm into any texture, size, and color, molding a perfect replica of his dream residence.

Overall, his lair just looked like an alternative version of his own bedroom, but with a few embellishments. Given that it was in the Ghost Zone, the color palette was much more vibrant than neutral: his walls were painted a neon green that reminisced the ectoplasm in his eyes; bright silver curtains covered where the windows would normally be; and light just seemed to fill the empty space, with no visible origin. And then there were small things that he unconsciously added that seemed to complete his reimagined dwelling.

Instead of his bland bedspread, there was the galaxy patterned comforter that he never got for Christmas. Pictures that he recognized from Jazz's scrapbook and Tucker's PDA archive adorned the walls, keeping him close to those he loved. The space shuttle model that Skulker had so unfortunately destroyed floated below the ceiling, appearing as if it was truly flying through zero-gravity. There was a replica of Sam's signed Dumpty Humpty poster (that he'd always been jealous of) framed above his bed. Next to the door that lead to his new high-end bathroom (he'd never liked the FentonWorks bathrooms, to be honest), was a glossy, black shelf full of medical supplies and extra clothes suitable for both of his forms. In a corner on the opposite side of his room was a pantry full of snacks with a microwave, which was more for enjoyment than sustenance because he could easily harvest residual ectoplasm as pure energy. But the most remarkable aspect about his lair was the ceiling; there was no clear physical roof, but instead the top of his lair evanesced into an ethereal expanse of the night sky, peppered with breathtaking constellations and the colors of various galaxies.

Through the entire procedure, Danny managed to keep an empty mind, completely devoid of persistent thinking. As he completed the progression of his lair, Danny's grasp on the Ghost Zone's power fled from him, restoring his normal senses to regular capacity and finalizing the formation of his lair. When it happened, it was like he was waking up from a pleasantly distant dream, causing a momentary lapse of disorientation. Actually thinking with his brain felt heavy and dull as opposed to perceiving the world through his core, which observed the world through frequencies of power and emotion.

Shaking his head a few times to snap him out of his stupor, Danny found himself facing the purple door to the lair he had just created. It looked like every other door in the Ghost Zone, but to Danny, everything in him just _knew_ it was his. If he looked closely, it was as if he could see his own symbol ingrained within the wood of the door, but he knew it was only a mirage.

With no hesitation, Danny flew forward and passed through the entrance to his lair. Upon being physically present within his lair for the first time, Danny suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of ease and comfort. It was even more surreally captivating in real life, and for once, Danny felt content with belonging within the Ghost Zone. He let out a tense sigh he felt like he'd been holding for a long time, and fell backwards on his bed, losing himself in the enchanting infinity of the galaxy below his ceiling.

At that moment Danny knew that he'd always have FentonWorks, but this place of personal serenity was his soul's home.

 

 


End file.
